Peeing Inside

[lelu]

We have got our 8 week old puppy this week, and we are having issues with him holding onto his wee while outside, then when brought in will go on the floor within 5 minutes. It doesn't happen every time though. We have been taking him outside every 1 hour and saying "go to the toilet" then when he does praise and give a treat. This worked perfectly on Monday (first day home), then yesterday and today he can hold it as long as we keep him outside for his wee break. So he held his bladder for 2.5 hours this afternoon, hubby had him outside for 1.5 hours (after the 1 hour period for his bladder to re fill), no wee's so hubby brought him back in then instantly wee'd on the ground.

That was the only time we have caught him in the act, so he got a firm "no", and he seemed to realise he did something he shouldn't have for 3 secs. He is drinking water more sporadically, sometimes will guzzle a heap, then other times he wont drink for a few hours. We have some puppy pee pads that we got this afternoon for overnight. Any help much appreciated!

Leah :)

[LisaCC]

Congrats on your new addition :)

I suggest to try not to use the pee pads over night, set alarms and take him outside so he does not get used to going inside at all.

Don't say "NO" when he does pee inside. Pick him up when you see him do it and run him outside and let him finish out there. If you scold him when he does pee he might decide not to go in front of you at all.

What are you doing with him in the hour or so you are waiting outside with him? Don't play with him, just take a book out and make yourself comfortable. If he falls asleep outside without peeing, then maybe run him around for a while, and stay outside until he goes, pups need to pee after exercise.

[lelu]

Congrats on your new addition :)

I suggest to try not to use the pee pads over night, set alarms and take him outside so he does not get used to going inside at all.

Don't say "NO" when he does pee inside. Pick him up when you see him do it and run him outside and let him finish out there. If you scold him when he does pee he might decide not to go in front of you at all.

What are you doing with him in the hour or so you are waiting outside with him? Don't play with him, just take a book out and make yourself comfortable. If he falls asleep outside without peeing, then maybe run him around for a while, and stay outside until he goes, pups need to pee after exercise.

I didnt realise saying no would be counter productive. That would be practical setting an alarm for the next 2 weeks, but when we go back to work the following week we can't actually do that all night when we go back to work. When we are outside we mostly play/run around. When he tries to sleep we wake him up.

[LisaCC]

After a few days you might not need to set an alarm, if it becomes a habit for him to wake you up when he needs to pee. I didn't need to set an alarm at all, Nova would wake me, and after 2 weeks Nova was holding from 10pm to 5:30-6. I know it's hard and you lack a lot of sleep, but if you can put in the hard work at the beginning it makes it one hell of a lot easier in the long run.

Where does he sleep at night? Are you crate training?

[lelu]

After a few days you might not need to set an alarm, if it becomes a habit for him to wake you up when he needs to pee. I didn't need to set an alarm at all, Nova would wake me, and after 2 weeks Nova was holding from 10pm to 5:30-6. I know it's hard and you lack a lot of sleep, but if you can put in the hard work at the beginning it makes it one hell of a lot easier in the long run.

Where does he sleep at night? Are you crate training?

I see, so would you suggest every 2 hours maybe? He sleeps in our spare room inside a pen with his bed, water and food. We were going to crate train, but I havent been able to get him using his kong, let alone getting in the crate. I would like to crate train though so he can be content with himself when we arent home later on

[LisaCC]

You don't need a Kong :) Nova only learnt how to use his Kong properly in the last week, they can be hard for some pups. When he is tired pop him in the crate, give him a chew in there, feed him in there. Just make it a nice place to be :)

First night and if he is not in your room were you can hear him stir easily, then yes I'd start with every 2 hours or so. Then extend it if he is holding it. If he is in a pen though it might be big enough that he doesn't try to hold on and he might just go in the corner, this is why crates are great at night :)

Edited July 31, 2013 by LisaCC

[minimax]

Congrats on your new addition :)

I suggest to try not to use the pee pads over night, set alarms and take him outside so he does not get used to going inside at all.

Don't say "NO" when he does pee inside. Pick him up when you see him do it and run him outside and let him finish out there. If you scold him when he does pee he might decide not to go in front of you at all.

What are you doing with him in the hour or so you are waiting outside with him? Don't play with him, just take a book out and make yourself comfortable. If he falls asleep outside without peeing, then maybe run him around for a while, and stay outside until he goes, pups need to pee after exercise.

I didnt realise saying no would be counter productive. That would be practical setting an alarm for the next 2 weeks, but when we go back to work the following week we can't actually do that all night when we go back to work. When we are outside we mostly play/run around. When he tries to sleep we wake him up.

I wouldn't be stopping him sleeping, young pups need a lot of sleep. And if he has a nap, he will need to pee when he wakes up.

If you're taking him outside every hour, and are outside for 1.5hrs ... is he sleeping/playing etc with you inside in between the outside bathroom trips?

[lelu]

You don't need a Kong :) Nova only learnt how to use his Kong properly in the last week, they can be hard for some pups. When he is tired pop him in the crate, give him a chew in there, feed him in there. Just make it a nice place to be :)

First night and if he is not in your room were you can hear him stir easily, then yes I'd start with every 2 hours or so. Then extend it if he is holding it. If he is in a pen though it might be big enough that he doesn't try to hold on and he might just go in the corner, this is why crates are great at night :)

Well he was just asleep on my lap, so I just put him in the crate and he just curled up in there happily with the door open :) So maybe when I go to bed I will put his chew treat in there, and put the door on then keep him next to the bed and I will take him out every 2 hours. Would you then say if we take him out and he doesnt pee within 5 mins bring him back in and try again in 2 hours?

[LisaCC]

Sounds great Lelu :) You might also get extremely lucky like I did and have him wake you up instead!

If he is fast asleep when you want him to go to bed you might not need to put a chew in there anyway (because he will probably need to go straight out and pee after ). He could just go to sleep straight in it.

[LisaCC]

Also you may find after tonight that 2hours isn't the right timing for your pup, they are all different.

[lelu]

Also you may find after tonight that 2hours isn't the right timing for your pup, they are all different.

Ok great, yeah thats why I said 2 hours, because he doesnt seem to go on the hour mark anyway :)

We have a plan for tonight, wish me luck :)

Oh and if he doesnt go, is he unlikely to pee in his crate, and if he does wake up then is it usually to pee?

Sorry for the 20 questions :)

Cheers

[LisaCC]

MOST pups won't toilet in their sleeping area. But if you read through the puppy threads you will find that you do get some that do.

If he wakes up, take him out to pee (set alarm again, at least for the first night). If he has JUST peed and is still up, let him settle himself. I did find in the first week that sometimes Nova would get up to pee, come back to me to go back inside then wake straight back up because he then needed to poop (but he had very loose stools in his 1st week). But if you know he doesn't need to poop/pee again then you can let him settle himself back to sleep.

If you are lucky and he consistently wakes you up to pee/poop with no accidents by morning, then you might be able to forego the alarm the following night.

Edited July 31, 2013 by LisaCC

[LisaCC]

Goodluck! And I think we need photos of your baby boy

[lelu]

Goodluck! And I think we need photos of your baby boy

Here he is

Hubby just informed me that last night (his puppy watch night) that Milo and him slept in bed together because he wouldnt settle from 1am until 7am. So potentially we could go longer.

Edited July 31, 2013 by lelu

[lelu]

Congrats on your new addition :)

I suggest to try not to use the pee pads over night, set alarms and take him outside so he does not get used to going inside at all.

Don't say "NO" when he does pee inside. Pick him up when you see him do it and run him outside and let him finish out there. If you scold him when he does pee he might decide not to go in front of you at all.

What are you doing with him in the hour or so you are waiting outside with him? Don't play with him, just take a book out and make yourself comfortable. If he falls asleep outside without peeing, then maybe run him around for a while, and stay outside until he goes, pups need to pee after exercise.

I didnt realise saying no would be counter productive. That would be practical setting an alarm for the next 2 weeks, but when we go back to work the following week we can't actually do that all night when we go back to work. When we are outside we mostly play/run around. When he tries to sleep we wake him up.

I wouldn't be stopping him sleeping, young pups need a lot of sleep. And if he has a nap, he will need to pee when he wakes up.

If you're taking him outside every hour, and are outside for 1.5hrs ... is he sleeping/playing etc with you inside in between the outside bathroom trips?

Sorry, just saw this. Mostly we play/run around when outside, except 10% of the time when we get tired :laugh: Then inside it is 50% play and 50% sleep

Well after hubby told me he went 6 hours sleeping with him last night uninterupted, I might wait till he wakes me

Edited July 31, 2013 by lelu

[The Spotted Devil]

For overnight, I find it easier to sleep pup in a crate next to my bed (no bedside table for a bit!) Pup gets restless, I take her out to toilet and then straight back to bed with no fuss. I have not had a pup wake up more than once overnight and they usually sleep through within a week. During the day I take them out very frequently - if they are doing well I will start to stretch the time between trips outside. Make a mistake? No problem - clean thoroughly with vinegar/water or Urine Off and just get better at seeing "the signs". Some toilet train much faster than others and we get better at training them :)

Have fun!

[LisaCC]

How did your night go Lelu?

Thats what I did TSD :) but from the large amounts of threads recently it seems we are extremely lucky to have pups that do that!

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Great patience is needed to toilet train a puppy - they are babies and don't always know in advance when they need to wee and just go. They can develop a problem if any punishment is associated with this. Best to use praise and reward when puppy does the right thing rather than saying "no" or making a thing of it when the puppy has an accident inside.

I should add that I have looked after puppies in the last few years, for a few hours at a time and been kept very busy with the wees and poos - they just keep coming ...

I have a method for training adult dogs which has worked on ex puppy farm / breeders' dogs that have ingrained habits formed over years, also on very old dogs that have previously never been in a house. Happy to share with you. A puppy takes longer generally because of the urgent need to go, we get busy, miss the signals etc and then there's a little accident. Here's my method - repetition is the key, over periods of time which vary from dog to dog:

HOUSETRAINING TIPS

Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it do wees) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days.

Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees give the dog treats every time.

First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command do wees. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes.

The dogs aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded.

NB: Please note that the smell of urine must be properly removed for any housetraining to be successful. There are products on the market such as Urine Off but they are very expensive. A mix of white vinegar and water is a much cheaper alternative and should work for tiles and other surfaces although you should always take care with wood etc. For carpet/rugs, I use either a mixture of Napisan/water or bicarb of soda and water. I completely soak the stain using a dab on technique with a cloth. When it is very wet, I use an old towel to soak up the excess moisture. Again, be careful on any expensive carpet/rug, I have never had any problems but I cannot guarantee any method here.

Edited July 31, 2013 by dogmad

[lelu]

For overnight, I find it easier to sleep pup in a crate next to my bed (no bedside table for a bit!) Pup gets restless, I take her out to toilet and then straight back to bed with no fuss. I have not had a pup wake up more than once overnight and they usually sleep through within a week. During the day I take them out very frequently - if they are doing well I will start to stretch the time between trips outside. Make a mistake? No problem - clean thoroughly with vinegar/water or Urine Off and just get better at seeing "the signs". Some toilet train much faster than others and we get better at training them :)

Have fun!

How did your night go Lelu?

Thats what I did TSD :) but from the large amounts of threads recently it seems we are extremely lucky to have pups that do that!

It went quite well actually! He was asleep until 9.30pm, which we woke him up for a toilet and played until 10.30pm until we went to bed. It was pretty easy getting him in the crate, I let him taste the treats, then showed him they were inside the crate and with gentle nudging he went in. I then petted his head through the wire til settled and he slept through until 1am. I took him straight out and he did a wee within 5 mins, then brought him back in and the same technique to get him back in. I also fed him more chicken when he was settled in the crate to try and make it super positive in there (loves poached chicken as a treat!).

He woke again at 3.30am, but might have been because our cats were playing and making a racket, took him out and no wee, so back inside and went to sleep quite quickly. Woke again at 4.30 and hubby took him out for a wee and he did, then woke again at 6am with no wee. Currently he is asleep in his pen in the lounge room. So all in all last night was quite a sucess, but we are so tired :)

Today I will start crate training, I saw a thread here about it, so see how we go. Will try the same technique tomorrow night, but with the cats locked up so hopefully he will sleep through more. :)

[lelu]

Great patience is needed to toilet train a puppy - they are babies and don't always know in advance when they need to wee and just go. They can develop a problem if any punishment is associated with this. Best to use praise and reward when puppy does the right thing rather than saying "no" or making a thing of it when the puppy has an accident inside.

I should add that I have looked after puppies in the last few years, for a few hours at a time and been kept very busy with the wees and poos - they just keep coming ...

I have a method for training adult dogs which has worked on ex puppy farm / breeders' dogs that have ingrained habits formed over years, also on very old dogs that have previously never been in a house. Happy to share with you. A puppy takes longer generally because of the urgent need to go, we get busy, miss the signals etc and then there's a little accident. Here's my method - repetition is the key, over periods of time which vary from dog to dog:

HOUSETRAINING TIPS

Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it “do wees”) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days.

Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying “Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees” – give the dog treats every time.

First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command “do wees”. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes.

The dog’s aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house – say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded.

NB: Please note that the smell of urine must be properly removed for any housetraining to be successful. There are products on the market such as “Urine Off” but they are very expensive. A mix of white vinegar and water is a much cheaper alternative and should work for tiles and other surfaces although you should always take care with wood etc. For carpet/rugs, I use either a mixture of Napisan/water or bicarb of soda and water. I completely soak the stain using a dab on technique with a cloth. When it is very wet, I use an old towel to soak up the excess moisture. Again, be careful on any expensive carpet/rug, I have never had any problems but I cannot guarantee any method here.

Thank you. We have been doing most of that so far, so good to know we are on the right track! Cheers